Picking up The Pieces of Her Broken Heart
by Weasleytwins07
Summary: A/U Fred lives. Hermione finds out that her marriage to Ron is Null and void, thanks to some new Marriage Laws that have been put in place since the fall of Voldemort. With a broken heart, and help from her close friends, she finds herself staying with the twins to heal. Fred has always had romantic feelings for the bookworm. Here is how their relationship develops!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is my second fanfiction, and one that I am thoroughly enjoying. I have been a fan of Fremoine since I started reading Fanfiction. Here is my take on how they came together. This is A/U where Fred lives of course. Also, I do not own Harry Potter, but I do love writing in the world JK Rowling created.**

Chapter 1: Life Changing Moment

Harry Potter sat at in his office looking over a file. He had zoned out more than once. Ron had been acting funny the last few days, and he called off to work today for personal reasons. Harry was worried about what could be going on. He made a mental note to ask Hermione over dinner tonight. Just as he finished signing his name on the last of his reports for the week, there was a knock on his door.

"Enter." Harry said, feeling that it could be any of his Aurors with more reports. He was shocked to be facing a paler than normal Percy Weasley. "Percy, is everything okay?"

"I'm afraid not Harry." Percy said, his voice shaky. There were a thousand scenarios planning in his mind. Did something happen to Molly, or Audrey and the baby? What about Ron, or maybe the twins. It was inevitable that there would be an explosion and one of the twins would wind up in St. Mungos.

"What's wrong Perce? Is everyone alright?" Harry stared into Percy's pale face trying to discern what might be the problem. With his Auror training, he had developed the innate ability to be able to tell when someone was lying.

"As far as I know, everyone is fine, health wise. But I have something to show you." Percy pulled out two folded up pieces of parchment. Harry could see the seal for the Marriage and Family Division stamped on the outside. "This came across my desk Harry, I am supposed to deliver it to Hermione, but I don't have the heart to do it to her."

"What is it Percy?" Harry held out his hand, Percy, reluctantly handed over the rolled up pieces of parchment. Harry saw Hermione Granger-Weasley posted on the front. He opened the first parchment;

 _ _Dear Mrs. Hermione Granger-Weasley,__

 _ _It is with heartfelt sorrow that I have to write this letter, but it has been brought to our attention by St. Mungos that there has been an heir produced for the Weasley family by Mr. Ronald Billius Weasley and Miss Lavender Aurora Brown. Ronald Billius Weasley the second was born on 18 January 2001. With this birth, your marriage to Mr. Weasley has here by been terminated, please see the accompanying parchment with the dissolution of marriage contract. The marriage was terminated under clause 113B of the marriage law, or more commonly know as "The law of the first heir to carry on the familial name". Again, I do apologize, and wish you the best on your future. There is no need for you to sign anything on the attached document, this is for your records only.__

 _ _Have a good day,__

 _ _Padma Patil__

 _ _Head of Marriage and Family Division.__

"Percy, you have got to be kidding me. This is going to kill Hermione." Harry said. At the moment he didn't know what he felt more, anger toward Ron, or sorrow for Hermione and all that she was getting ready to be subjected to.

"It get's worse Harry." Percy said, and swallowed. "After this hit my desk, as undersecretary to Kingsley, I have access to all the Marriage and Family division. That includes documentation of conception."

"Okay?" Harry felt his stomach sinking, and felt nauseated. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what was about to be told to him.

"Harry, that child was conceived on 22 April 2000. The date of Ron's marriage to Hermione." Percy said and grimaced after he said it. Percy may have been a prat a few years ago, but he had made his peace with his family, and had become close with Hermione. Harry's stomach hit the floor. And he remembered that day almost a year ago. He remembered when Ron went missing, and they couldn't find him anywhere. It was at their reception, and Hermione was looking for him, so they could cut the cake, and get on to their honeymoon.

"What are we going to do Perce? We have to find a way to tell Hermione, she doesn't need to find out about this when it hits the paper tomorrow. I shiver to the think of the scathing article Rita Skeeter is going to write on this." Harry took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn't dare tell Ginny, she would kill Ron, not that Ron didn't deserve it. But he really didn't fancy the possibility of having to arrest his own wife for murdering her brother. Harry stood from his chair, walked around his desk and looked at his aurors. He was going to need major back up, and it had to be someone that Hermione trusted. He saw Neville getting his jacket on and getting ready to leave for the day. Neville was his only option to keep Hermione calm. "Neville, can you come here a minute?"

"Sure Harry." Neville said turning around and walking into Harry's office. "Percy, how are you?"

"Been better Nev."Percy said tersely.

"Neville, we need some help. Do you know where Ron is today?" Harry wanted to see if any of his friends suspected what Ron had done.

"No clue, he sent me an owl and said that he wouldn't be in for personal reasons today. What's going on Harry?" Neville asked, he noticed then that both the head auror and the undersecretary to the minister were extremely pale.

"Neville, we have to deliver some really bad news to Hermione, and we need someone who can keep Hermione from doing anything rash. Do you think you could be of some assistance?" Harry asked.

"Sure Harry. Am I able to ask what this is about?" Neville could tell by their faces that whatever it was, it wasn't good. Harry handed over the rolled parchment and watched as Neville's face grew pale, then red with anger. Harry knew that Neville was Hermione's first serious boyfriend, and, even after splitting amicably a few years ago, the friendship still grew stronger. This made him just as protective of her as Harry. "I'm going to kill him if she doesn't." Neville's voice was ominous. Harry had only heard it sound like that one other time, and it had to do with Rudolphus Lestrange.

"Can you keep your cool on this Nev, I need you to." Harry asked raising a dark eyebrow as he ran his hand through his perpetually mused black hair.

"Of course Harry, I can compartmentalize like only Hermione can. Let's get this done. I do not relish in breaking her heart." Neville said standing and turning to walk out of Harry's office.

"Me neither Nev, me neither." He said as he sighed and followed Percy out of his office, using his wand to lock the door.

Hermione was sitting in her office, putting the finishing touches on a bill about the care of Dragons that were used to guard important things, like the dragon that she, Ron, and Harry escaped on out of Gringotts, around Europe that she had been working on closely with Charlie. Charlie Weasley sat in the chair across from her desk reading over part of the rough draft, to make any corrections prior to the bill going before the Wizengamont. His short fire red hair sticking up at odd angles. It could rival Harry's. His face was clean shaven, and his black tee shirt was pulled tight over his muscular frame that was stretched out with his feet propped on her desk, knowing how much she hated his dragon hide boots getting her desk dirty. They had long since agreed to just let it go. He would clean her desk every day before leaving the office. Hermione had been up until late last night working on this wording, and, since Ron had to work all night last night, she knew he wouldn't miss her not being there. She was nervous if Charlie would approve of the bill with the current wording, or if she would have to start from scratch, like she had twice already.

"Hermione, it's perfect, it will hold all the reserves accountable to how they treat them, and it will hold Gringotts accountable for how they train and treat their guard dragons. It's perfect!" Charlie said smiling widely. His blue eyes sparkling, reminding her of the twins when they were up to no good. He jumped from his chair and gave her a big hug, picking her up out of her chair. She squealed and laughed. "You are amazing!"

"Of course she is, they don't call her the brightest witch of her age for nothing." Harry said standing in the doorway. He was smiling, but it didn't reach his green eyes, Neville was behind him, she could see a shock of curly red hair that could only belong to Percy, over Nev's shoulder. Before Hermione could acknowledge all of them, Harry noticed Charlie. "Charlie Weasley, how are you?"

"Great Harry. How are you and my sister doing?" Charlie asked shaking Harry's hand. Hermione took her eyes away from them, and watched as Neville and Percy entered her office in the Department of Regulations and Care for Magical Creatures. Percy quietly shut the door behind him, and she noticed him wave his wand and mutter a silencing charm. She felt her stomach drop. What ever was about to be said wasn't good. Hermione felt her knees go weak, and she sunk down in to her chair. She hadn't had the chance to floo home at lunch and check on Ron. Did something happen last night, was he injured or killed. The paler face of Percy and the red face of Neville lead her to believe that what ever it was was going to change her life forever.

"Harry, Neville, Percy, what is going on? Why are you here?" Hermione asked, her voice shaking. Charlie noticed the faces, and she saw Harry whisper something in his ear, his face reddened with anger, and his fist balled up to white knuckle tension.

"Hermione,"Neville said walking over and sitting on her desk. He gently grabbed her hands and looked her in the eyes. His hazel eyes trying to be full of compassion and not pity for her. He knew his ex-girlfriend well enough to know that she hated pity.

"He's dead isn't he? Or is he at St. Mungos? I need to go." She stood up and attempted to pull her hands out of Neville's grasp. Neville held tight, and shook his head.

"Hermione, I wish it was that simple, but it isn't." Neville swallowed and glanced at the three men in the room. Harry nodded, and Percy handed Hermione the rolled up pieces of parchment. She looked at it, and back at the four men in her office. Neville loosened his grip, and allowed her to reach for the parchment. "You are going to want to sit down when you read this, love, trust me."

"What's going on. You all are really starting to scare me." Hermione's voice shook with uncertainty and fear. Charlie moved behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. Harry sat down beside Neville, and Percy stood behind with his hand on her opposite shoulder. She took a deep breath and carefully unrolled the first scroll. Eyes skimming over the words, she had to read the letter four times before it started to sink in. They all knew the minute that it did because she jumped up, jerked out of Percy and Charlie's grasp, grabbed her wand, and went for her coat on the rack by the door. "I'm going to kill him Harry. He cheated on me with that, that, slag."

"Hermione, calm down." Harry said gently trying to grab her arm.  
"No Harry, don't tell me to calm down. I've done the math! It had to have been around our wedding." She shouted.

"More like at your wedding." Charlie muttered.

"What?!" She shrieked. They all stepped back and watched as she started pacing. Her hair was crackling and they could feel the magic crackling around her. "At my wedding?! All he had to do was wait another two hours and he would have gotten everything he wanted. He couldn't blood wait! I thought he waited through our dating and engagement. He knew how I felt, but he only had to wait a few more hours!"

"It's coming isn't it?" Percy muttered to the three men. They all nodded. Percy watched as the young witch stopped pacing and fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face. Harry, Neville, and Charlie were there in seconds holding her and pulling her to her feet.

"Why couldn't he wait Harry? Was I not good enough?" Hermione asked, her voice showing all of her heart break. "Where am I going to stay? I can't go home. I have no place to go!"

"Mione, you will always have a place to go. Let's go to the Burrow." Charlie said softly to her.

"You can't take me there! You're mom will ask too many questions. I need to go to a place where no one will ask questions." Hermione said through a sob.

"I know where you can go." Neville said. "Percy, floo the twins flat. Ask for George and tell him we are coming through."

"I'm on it." Percy said quickly walking out of Hermione's office and running to the floo in his own office. Throwing the floo powder he yelled "Flat above Weasleys' Wizzarding Wheezes"

"Perce, every thing okay?" George asked. Percy breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that the head that came through the floo was missing an ear. He was already going to have his hands full keeping Charlie calm, he didn't want to add Fred to the list. George could keep his cool, and deal with Fred should the occasion arise.

"Are you alone?" Percy asked quickly.

"Yeah, Fred is down stairs in the shop. He decided to give me the day off for once." George chuckled. "What's going on Perce?"

"I have something I need to discuss with you regarding Hermione. Do you mind if I come through?"

"No, come on in." George said stepping aside. Percy stepped through the green flames and stepped out into the atrociously decorated flat that belonged to the twins. The orange walls and purple furniture gave Percy nightmares. Percy shivered and turned to see the shaggy, ginger hair, and blue eyes of his younger brother. George smirked at Percy and showed him over to the couch. "What's going on with Hermione?"  
"Ron is a cheating bastard. That's whats going on with Hermione." Percy said without thinking. George looked taken aback and then his face reddened with anger.

"Start at the beginning Percy." George said calmly. He very rarely heard George use this cool calm voice, and the times that he had never boded well for the person the anger was directed at.

"I had a few documents cross my desk that I needed to deliver to Hermione. Being the undersecretary, my seal has to go on any legal documents form the ministry. Well these particular documents were a dissolution of marriage and a letter from the Marriage and Family Division. Apparently, our dear younger brother, cheated on Hermione at their wedding reception with none other than Lavender Brown. There was a child conceived, and via the "first heir to carry on the name" clause in the Marriage law, this nullified Hermione's marriage to the git."

"Are you shitting me right now?" George asked. There was no way that Ron would be that dumb.

"I wish I was. She is a mess right now. Harry, Neville, and Charlie are with her now."  
"What can I do? You know Fred and I will help anyway we can" George asked.

"She needs a place to stay for a few days. Think she could stay in your extra room?" Percy bit his cheek hoping that George would say yes.

"Absolutely, she's welcome to stay as long as she needs to. Go ahead and bring her over."

"Thanks George. I'll have Neville and Harry bring her over. This was actually Neville's idea." Percy said before throwing the floo powder and landing in his office. Harry, Neville, Hermione, and Charlie were all in his office awaiting his arrival. "George said bring her through."

"Let's go Hermione." Neville said gently. He wrapped his arm around his shoulder and allowed Percy to throw the floo powder into the fire place and say the address and he and Hermione stepped in.

George caught Hermione as she came through the floo. Her eyes were red, puffy, and the normal warm brown eyes looked lifeless and cold. The look almost killed George. Hermione was like his little sister, and seeing this broken Hermione made him want to break every bone in Ron's body.

"Come on Hermione, I have already got a bath running for you in the spare bathroom. There are some relaxing oils on the tub, a towel is on the sink, and I have set out a pair of sweats and my old quidditch jersey is on the bed in the spare bedroom." George started leading her down the hall.

"Thank you." She said, her voice hoarse and sounding dead.

"Can I get you anything else?"

"No, thank you though." Hermione walked into the spare bathroom and shut the door in George's face. He knew she said she didn't want anything, but he went into the kitchen to start her a cup of hot tea. He reached into his potions cabinet and pulled a calming draught and a sleeping draught. He put a dose of each in her tea and put it on the table beside her bed, placing a stasis charm to keep the tea the right temperature. He knew she would thank him in the morning. George walked out to the living room to see Charlie, Harry, and Neville in a deep conversation.

"Well," Charlie's deep brogue permeated the living area. "You know my vote. I still say that I know a Chinese Fireball that would be more than happy to have him for lunch."  
"Charlie, we can't do that." Harry said rolling his eyes.

"I know several different plant concoctions that can leave him impotent. That would serve the bastard right." Neville said with an evil gleam in his eye. George had never seen this side of the normally quite Gryffindor.

"I vote for that one." George said falling down on the couch next to Charlie. "Better yet, we could always tell Ginny and see how many different orifices she can conjure up Bat Bogeys with that hex of hers."

"I'm not telling Ginny this right now. Her pregnancy hormones are going crazy, she'll kill him." Harry said with a shake of his head. He shivered a little when he thought of his wife's temper. "I know you all are going to hate my suggestion, but don't you think we should hear Ron's side of this. There could be an explanation of which we haven't thought."

"Are you mental!?" Charlie almost yelled. "He cheated on his wife, at his own damn wedding. I don't care if she spiked his drink with Amortentia, there is no excuse for that behavior."

"I think what we really need to be thinking about is what we are going to tell Ron when he starts asking about Hermione's whereabouts. I know we don't want him finding her right now. She may look like she has given up, but once she has rested, and had time to really think about all of this, she is going to kill him if she sees him in the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours." Neville said bluntly. Neville knew Hermione almost better than Harry did, and definitely better than Ron did. As angry as they all were at Ron, nobody wanted him dead, even if he did deserve it at the moment.

"I'll figure out some way to deal with Ron." Harry said with a sigh. "I just hope he doesn't want me to pick sides. He may be my best mate, but Hermione is my sister, and he won't like the choice I make."

"He won't like the choice any of us make. If Ron's not careful, he will alienate all his friends and his family." Charlie said darkly. "I can honestly say that I am fine if I never see him again."

"That makes two of us Char." George said patting him on the shoulder. "How long before this hits the Prophet?"

"Perce went to talk with the Marriage and Family Division about keeping this quite for a few days, to give Hermione time to tell her loved ones. Even if she is a member of the Golden Trio, her privacy needs to be respected in this moment especially." Harry said and every man in the room nodded.

"I have one more question," George said looking between his older brother and his brother in law. "Who is going to tell Mum?"

"I'm not telling her about this, this will kill her." Charlie said shaking his head. He then got a wicked grin on his face. "We could make Ron tell her. Then he can bear the brunt of Mum's anger."

"Char, you are diabolical."Harry shook his head. "Judging from the reaction that Hermione had when you mentioned going to the Burrow, I would say that we let Hermione tell her in her own time. The few days that Percy is buying us will help."

"That it will." George said looking at his family. After a few more moments of conversation, the men left he flat with intentions of getting back to work.


	2. Chapter 2: Life Changing Moments Part 2

_A/N: So sorry it took me so long to update! Life has been crazy! As said previously, I do not own Harry Potter. I am not profiting from this story. Enjoy!!_

Chapter 2: Life Changing Moments Part 2

George picked up the glasses and set them to wash. He quickly placed an order for fish and chips from the Leaky for himself and Fred. If he needed to break bad news to Fred, it was best to do that with his favorite food in tow. George put two muggle beers in the freezer to get them good and cold. Fred was going to flip when he heard what the git did. George ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. It was going to be a long, long night.

Ron stood at the nursery window looking at his son. There was no denying that the beautiful red headed boy was a Weasley. Ron had seen his baby pictures. The boy was a spitting image of him. That's the only reason he allowed Lavender to name the child after him. He shook his head. This wasn't right. His little boy deserved Hermione for a mother. She is the best. She always wanted children, and they had talked about it on numerous occasions. They both wanted a big family. Not quite as big as his Mum and Dad had, but big all the same. How had he allowed this to happen? He didn't even remember Lav being at the wedding. Bloody hell, he didn't even know she was pregnant until he got the owl from St. Mungos when he got home from work last night. He had never been more thankful for Hermione's work ethic than he was in that moment.

"Mr. Weasley, Miss Brown is asking for you. We are getting ready to bring your little boy into the room to be with her." The Mediwitch said softly. Ron looked at the young woman, she was a little on the chunky side, tall for a woman, around five feet nine inches, with porcelain skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. She seemed familiar, but he couldn't place her.

"Thank you Miss..."

"Bulstrode, Millicent. But please, call me Millie." She said with a kind smile. "No introduction needed for you Mr. Weasley. I owe you a great debt. If not for you, your wife, and Harry Potter, my family would be dead, as would I."

"You were in Slytherin weren't you?" Ron asked, trying not to snarl when he said it. He had worked with a few decent Slytherin in the past two years. Hermione has helped him put that particular prejudice behind him.

"I was, but I can assure you, not every Slytherin wanted that insane megalomaniac to succeed." She smiled. "Now, come, lets get you into your son, shall we?"

"Yeah, okay." Ron said as he followed the kind mediwitch into the room. Ron stood in the door way as he watched Lavender pick up their son and put him on her breast to nurse. She looked at him and smiled softly. Her long blonde curls were in a ponytail that was pulled over the opposite shoulder. Her face was marred with scars from Greyback, but he had to admit that she was still very pretty. Not as beautiful as Hermione, but still pretty all the same. "Lavender, what happened?"

"Do you want to have this conversation now?" Lavender asked him softly. She frowned.

"I bloody well do. Lavender, I need to understand this. I didn't just lie to my boss about where I was, I lied to my wife. MY WIFE!!" He whispered loudly. He didn't want to risk making the baby cry.

"I hate to tell you Ronald, but because of this drunken mistake that we both made, she's not your wife anymore. I am!!!!" She said with a little force. A tear streamed down her face. "I didn't mean for this to happen Ron. I didn't mean for it to happen at all. I told Parvati, when she dragged me to your wedding, that it was a horrible idea. Ron, I never stopped loving you. It broke my heart to see you marry her, but I could see how happy you were. As much as I wanted to be with you, I wanted you happy. I don't really remember much after seeing you kiss Hermione and seal the marriage. The next thing I remember is waking up in my apartment that I shared with Parvati. I had a killer hangover, and absolutely no memory of what happened. I didn't even know the baby was yours until they did the wizarding paternity test when I went into labor."

"I don't remember much after the first dance and cutting the cake. I remember Harry giving me a sober up potion, with Ginny standing next to him looking disappointed and Fred looking absolutely livid. I do know Harry said that they wouldn't tell Hermione the state that he found me in. I don't remember being intimate with you after we broke up all those years ago." Ron ran his hands through his short hair. He was exhausted. He hadn't slept in close to forty-eight hours. "Lav, I love Hermione. She has been the love of my life for years. My wife for a little less than. How can I be okay with this?"

"I'm sorry Ron. I truly am, I wish it didn't happen this way, but I wouldn't trade my son for anything in this world. Look at him. Look at our baby boy." Lavender said softly. She gently switched breasts, and Ron quickly looked away to give her privacy. Once she was covered and had the baby settled, he looked down at his son again. The love he felt for his baby boy was unexplainable and completely unexpected. How could he love someone so much that he just met.

"Can I hold him when he's done nursing?" Ron asked rubbing his hand against the back of his neck.

"Of course you can. He's your son Ron." Lavender said smiling up at him slightly. "That letter came for you. The Mediwitch brought it to you when you were staring at the babies in the nursery. I have already read mine. Ron, you need to read it, then you need to come to terms with the fact that you and I are now bound in marriage for the rest of our lives."

"The fucking ministry sticking its nose where it doesn't belong. I swear they enjoy ruining people's lives. I love Kingsley, but enough is enough." Ron said rolling his eyes and opening his letter. He knew what it would say. He knew the life he had fought so hard for, was over. He would never again get to hold his Hermione in his arms again. He hoped, and prayed to all the gods that she wasn't alone when she found out about his catastrophic mistake.

Fred had a pep in his step as he closed up the shop. He was bone tired, but the deposit in Gringotts was going to be one of the biggest of the new year. Locking the safe and setting the wards, Fred took off his Magenta robes, and trudged up the back stair well to his upper level apartment that he shared with George. Using his wand to open the door, he got a whiff of fish and chips. From the smell, he could guarantee that they were from the Leaky. His favorite. His mouth watered as he kicked off his dragon hide boots, and walked into the kitchen.

"What's the special occasion Forge?" Fred said looking at his twin, who had his head resting on the table. When George looked up at his older brother, by two minutes, Fred saw the angry tears on his face. His stomach fell faster than Harry Potter did after the dementors attack in the Quidditch pitch. He sank down in the chair across from his brother. "Georgie, What is it?"

"Hermione's here. She's staying in the spare room." George said through a scratch voice. "She's going to be staying here for a while."

"Is everything okay? Did something happen to Ron?" Fred asked. He was trying to think of what could possibly have happened that would have Hermione staying there with them.

"He's okay as long as he stays the hell away from here." George's anger was almost palpable. He knew something was wrong, majorly wrong.

"What did the git do? How much fun are we going to have pranking him?" Fred smirked, trying to make George smile.

"Freddie, I'm more worried about how we are going to keep Hermione from killing him, and to be honest, to keep you from killing him." George pushed the plate of fish and chips across the table, and summoned the muggle beer from the freezer. He opened one sliding it across the table to Fred, then popped open the second. "Freddie, he cheated on her, got that Brown bint preggers. She had the baby earlier today. This dissolved their marriage. Hermione was a completely wreck when she came through the floo with Neville."

"Who all knows about this?" Fred could feel the anger rising. He flexed his fists, and took a deep breath. Trying to remember the relaxation techniques he was taught to deal with his PTSD from the wall falling on him.

"Perce was the first to find out, he went to Harry for help, who brought Neville in, you know how close those two are, then they went to Hermione together. Charlie was there when she read the letter." George smirked a bit. "Char wanted to feed him to a dragon. Most of us voted for that, but Potter vetoes that. Neville's idea was better yet...he mentioned some plants to cause impotence."

"We have corrupted the quite one!" Fred said with a bitter laugh. "I like that one the best."

"We still have those products we were waiting to start testing for our WonderWitch line that is for the jilted witch. It would be fun to see how many different symptoms of muggle STDs we could give him." George said with a dark chuckle.

"Please don't." Hermione's soft voice said from the door. Fred turned to look at her, and his breath caught. Even with the puffy, red eyes, and a red stuffy nose, she was absolutely beautiful. Gods help him he was so deeply in love with her, he would do anything for her. Fred wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and hold her tightly. "Thank you both for allowing me to stay here with you. I know it must be an inconvenience."

"Never." Fred said standing up and finally giving in to the need to hug her. She seemed to sink into his embrace a little bit. "Mione, Love, you are always welcome here."

"Thank you Fred." She said through her tears. He felt her body shake with a sob. His anger increased towards his brother. "I don't know what I would do without you and George right now."

"Thankfully that is something that you will never have to find out." George said as he joined into the hug making it a group hug. Fred looked over at George as he felt Hermione's sobs calm down. "We'll always be there for you 'Mione. Always."

"Thank you both." She said as she squeezed them both tightly.

"Did you see the tea I left for you?" George asked her as he took his seat back at the table.

"On the bedside table?" Hermione asked as she started to yawn.

"That would be the one. Why don't you go to bed before you fall down." George smiled at her.

"Come on love," Fred said as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, and started steering her towards the spare room. He kicked the door open more, and led her over to the bead. He helped her inside and tucked her in gently. Her eyes shut immediately. He leaned down and placed a tender kiss on her temple. "Sweet dreams love."

Fred sat on the side of his bed staring at the potion that rested on the night stand. He hadn't taken any Dreamless Sleep potion in over a month, but with Hermione being there, he knew it would trigger a flash back from when he saw her broken and bloody after her torture with Bellatrix Lestrange. He had been at Shell Cottage delivering a message from the order when they trio had arrived. He shivered. Trying hard not to remember how horrid she looked. How she would twitch with just a simple touch to her skin due to the nerve pain from the cruciatus curse. He wanted to remember, instead, the times where neither one could sleep, due to nightmares, and would share cocoa and biscuits at the Burrow.

Flashback to August 1998 The Burrow

Fred woke up in the middle of the night, sweat pouring down his face, his shirt, and sheets were soaked through from the sweat. He pulled off his shirt, and checked the time in the muggle clock his Dad loved so much. Three o'clock in the morning...he knew he would need to wake Hermione soon. Her nightmares were worse than his, and she, not wanting to be a bother to anyone, would rather keep a silencing charm around her bed than inconvenience anyone with her nightmares. Fred only knew about them, because after weeks of meeting in the kitchen in the middle of the night, she had finally confided in him about her dream, and he confided in her about his nightmare of being buried alive. He relished these early mornings with her. He would miss them when she returned to Hogwarts in a few weeks. Putting a silencing charm on his feet,he made his way, slowly, to the room that she was supposed to share with Gunny. Only himself, George, and Ron knew the truth, that Ginny stayed in Ron's room with Harry. She was the only thing that seemed to keep Harry from waking up the whole house. Ron would sleep in Ginny's room, but Hermione still silenced her bed so Ron wouldn't hear her screams. Once he reached the door, he silenced the hinges, and slowly opened the door. When he peaked around the door, he saw Hermione soundlessly thrashing in her bed. Her mouth opened in a silent scream. Fred felt his eyes well with tears. The woman he loved was hurting. The only woman he ever wanted to be with, but would never have. She belonged with Ron. They had been through entirely too much together to not be meant to be together.

Sinking down on his knees, he placed his hands on her shoulders, and gently shook her. She still the moment she felt his touch. After a few moments, she opened her eyes, tears streaming down her face, she lunged for Fred, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Moving on instinct, Fred picked her up bridal style and walked out of the room, down the stairs and took a seat on the worn out couch. Using a nonverbal, wandless spell, he started the hot chocolate and had the chocolate biscuits plated. He looked down at her. Her brown eyes closed tightly, body racked with sobs.

"You're okay love. I've got you. Nothing bad is going to happen to you." Fred whispered to her softly. After a few more moments of repeating this over and over, her sobs quieted, and she loosened the grip she had on his neck. The cups of cocoa and plate of biscuits levitated into the living room, setting themselves down on the coffee table. At the quiet thump, Hermione grabbed the cup closest to her, wrapping her cool hands around it, and took a long sip of the hot liquid, allowing it warm her chilled body. Fred watched as she picked up a biscuit and nibbled a bit. "Same one?"

"It's always the same. I swear, Fred, sometimes I feel all of it again. Like it's still happening." Her voice sounded hoarse and hollow. He tightened his grip on her as he felt her body tremble slightly.

"Mione, I know you don't want to burden anyone with this, and you know that I don't mind helping you in anyway that I can. After all you have done for this family, and for George and me, it's the least I can do. What else can I do to help you?"

"Being here, being my friend, that's helping me." She said softly. She raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "This doesn't help you with your nightmares?"

"No, it does. I sleep like a baby after our talks and cocoa, but I just want to help you get better." Fred said as he picked up his cocoa and took a sip. She looked down, and Fred saw the blush raise to her cheeks. He smirked softly. She seemed to have realized that she was still sitting in his lap. She quickly slid off his lap, to the other end of the couch, sitting on her feet, she faced Fred. "Do you sleep well after our little talks?"

"Honestly, it does help some. There was only one time that keep the nightmares completely away." She said as she looked down at her cocoa. Her blush seemed to deepen.

"Okay. Now your blush has me curious."he said with a smile on his face. What ever it was, it had to be good. There were only a few things that made Hermione blush like that. She blushes like that anytime someone makes any mentions of physical touches or intimacy. He felt his stomach fall, his smile vanished. What if the only night she had dream free was after she and Ron...he quickly shook his head, and looked at her again. Fake smile plastered on his face. "Now, Miss Granger, tell me what has you blushing so much?"

"Well, as silly as it sounds, do you remember the night a few weeks ago, when we fell asleep on the couch. George woke us up before anyone else came down." She asked looking up at Fred under her lashes. He nodded and smiled softly. Encouraging her to keep going. "That time, it was the first time I have been able to sleep without a nightmare. It was the most peaceful four to five hours of sleep I have had in ages."

"Really! I thought you mean that you and Ron had..." he looked down.

"You thought I slept with Ron?" Hermione whispered and shook her head. "No. As old fashioned as it sounds, I am waiting until my wedding night for that. That's why I don't talk about it. That's why I blush when people bring it up."

"So you're a virgin?" Fred smiled when she nodded.

"Yes, and I'm proud of it! So don't you dare make fun of my Frederick Gideon Weasley!" Hermione said raising her eyebrows.

"Never would dream of it, love." Fred said holding up his hands. After that, the conversation came freely, talking about everything from her upcoming final year at Hogwarts to the success he was already seeing at the shop. After a few hours, they both fell asleep on the couch. His hand gently touch her leg, that she had propped up in his lap over time.

Present

Fred smiled at the memory. That was the final time that they were able to stay up talking. Ron had come down the steps and confronted Hermione as to what was going on. After that, she would share a bed with Ron, and her nightmares resolved. It was at that point that he turned to the potion he was currently looking at. Just as he started to reach for the bottle, there was a knock on the door. He dropped his hand, and waved his wand, putting the potion in the drawer. If it was George, he would flip if he even suspected that Fred was thinking about taking it again, especially after overcoming his addiction to the stuff. He cleared his throat "Come in."

"Fred?" Hermione's voice said from the door as it slowly opened.

"Everything okay Mione?" Fred asked walking over to her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Nightmare, but this wasn't like my old. It was different. I don't want to talk about it." She looked up at him. "Do you ind if I sleep in here? Sleeping next to someone helps. That's how I made it through my seventh year. Ginny stayed with me."

"Of course, what ever you need." Fred cleared his throat, and walked her over to the bed. He helped her into the side of the bed that he never slept on, then he climbed in next to her. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he listened as her breathing evened out, signaling that she had finally fallen into a restful sleep.


End file.
